My Aunty, Auntie Lou Charli Jones | Year 10 In this piece, Aunty Lou tells me about her story as a child. She was a part of the Stolen Generation. Her story is about how she met her sister – my grandmother (Nana Robyn) – for the first time. When Nana Robyn found out that she had a sister she was amazed. Nana Robyn desperately wanted to meet her, so she did some research and found out where she lived. When Nana Robyn explained to Aunty Lou how they were related and that they were sisters, Aunty Lou was in denial. She didn’t believe her and wanted nothing to do with her. After a while, Aunty Lou allowed herself to meet up with my Nana Robyn and they yarned. Unfortunately, Nana Robyn has now passed away; however, before her passing they started to reach out to each other more often and grew close. This is the story of Lucille Doyle Currie as told to Charli Jones. When I first met your Nana Robyn it was 1987. Graham was around 7 or 8 years old. Pop’s friend Ron Hinds (deceased) met during football and began to play together. After a few interactions with one another, Pop was invited to a barbeque with Noel (Aunty Lou’s husband). His sister was married to Ron Hinds. One day Alison, who is Noel’s sister, was talking about how me and your Nana’s father were Delaney’s. She found it odd that we both had the same surname. Alison knew a lot of different Aboriginal families around and she said well my brother is married to Lucille Doyle/Curri and her Dad is Steven Delaney. That conversation was unreal. Alison rang me and said Lucille you need to come over I got some news for you; she didn’t tell me what it was for a start and I didn’t realise how important it’ll be until she explained it to me afterwards because I was quite stubborn. I had the surprise of my lifetime. She said it’s your sister Robyn, Lucille. Obviously, I said WHAT?! My memory was quite vague but all I knew was that it blew my mind. All I felt were so many emotions. All I’d wished for had come true. A sibling. My family. Nana Robyn was around her early 30s when we finally met. I couldn’t believe I was meeting my sister on my dad’s side. ‘Lou, I want you to come visits me for a barbeque. I want you to see our family. You can come any time at my place’ was what she said to me. Overwhelmed I said hold on, I just met you and only just found out that I had a sister after growing up without any recollection of even having one. I was shy. I was just trying to process everything because it had such a huge impact on me. It was mind blowing. It touches my soul whenever I review that memory. Your Nana Robyn said something to me that I will never forget. She said: ‘I won’t give up on you. I won’t give up. When you are ready you can come over to my place to meet everyone.’ That key phrase enabled me to trust her. I will never forget that. ‘When you’re ready Lou you are welcome to come and have a barbeque at my place to meet family.’ Her kindness and understanding of my need to take it slow struck my heart like no other. I’ll never be able to meet someone like her ever again. It’s such a big journey. Trying to recover and learn about everything that’s happened within our family. But your Nana Robyn never gave up on me. That was one of the most important things in my life. I will never forget that. Although we didn’t know each other properly, she always made me feel like I was her sister. Robyn was the first sibling I knew. The first sibling I was able to get close to. The first person I confided in. Then Aunty Betty and Uncle Morris came along. Robyn always had this special trait that lured everyone in. She had a strong spirit. I never knew my family, I used to always look for them. I would cry when
36/Mulu Maguydan
I was a kid, because I just wanted to meet my mum and dad, my brothers and sisters, and you couldn’t do anything about it. You just had to cope. A few years before our encounter during Ron Hinds and Alison’s wedding, your Nana Robyn said that she saw me during the service. We didn’t know each other then. She looked over and said to me years later when we grew closer that ‘I saw you at the wedding remember? I immediately thought that you looked like Aunty Gwen.’ Shocked I said, ‘oh, don’t!’ and that was the truth. Your Pop was at the wedding too with your Nana. Noel and Alison are brother and sister, and Pop and Nana were friends which was why the connection was so big. It was unreal to see my sister. I cried the day I found out. So many emotions surged within me, it was indescribable. All those years of yearning to have some sort of family came true. That was why it was a huge deal for me. Both my mum and dad’s sides of the family are big. They are both Aboriginal, so I had both big tribes, but never really got to know my family until after I left the home. (Homes are the institutions that operate as orphanages for young Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids). I’ve been in the home for 18 years of my life. Once I’d finally left the homes, I went to Bindara lodges and stayed there at the hostels. Many young Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids who were 18 stayed there at South Brisbane Mater Hills with me. We lived in a hostel for girls. I was in
